Saturday, February 25, 2012

Finally - the new studio

And it's almost done. OK, is a studio "ever" done??? But I am happy with what we've got done (Colleen helped me with this, too) and am most happy that I can walk away, close the door and leave the mess!

The room faces north. Wonderful light, but no direct sunlight, so no heat. This should be a commercial for Jetmax! Most of my cubes are along the wall on the left. There's a double desk in the middle of the room. Another desk from Jetmax cubes on the right under the TV, some behind the door and more in the closet. I've been collecting the cubes for 3 years. Mostly on Thanksgiving day when they are 55% off. That made the older ones ($29.99) about $15 each. They are light enough that I can move them any time I need to.

Ok, because I shot directly into the bright daylight, it doesn't look too bright inside in this photo - stick with me!

This is from the door going in, there's a small bath on the right and that's a huge walk-in closet on the back right (on the angle.) Note the flood lights and the alcove lighting. Plus 2 ott-lites on my desk. The walls are a very pale blue except the one on the left. Excellent to view color in any of my art projects.

Don't you love the dress forms and baby dresses? Nothing is new, just pulled from other dust-catching corners throughout the house. They are perfect against the dark blue wall. I split the paint at the right end to cover the cord cover coming down from the ceiling. Gives the nook it's own place in the room and covers the cord. These dress forms are from Hobby Lobby. They come black and I spray them white. Usually get them on the clearance aisle at 66% off.

Kerry hung a flat panel TV with a built in DVD on one of those mounts that swivel up and down and from side to side. The chair at the table turns around to the desk under the TV and with the mirror on the right, I can use this as a makeup desk. I'm old. I need to sit a lot. LOL!!!

It's such a perfect reading nook. I found a memory foam queen pad on Craigslist and cut 24" off for the bench. (what was left was perfect to go on a twin size bed) Then I sewed up a duvet and used it like a pillowcase over the foam. Most of the pillows are from thrift stores as well. Bleach. The perfect solution to everything white! One friend came over and sat down, looked out the window and declared that she is going to do this in her home. I think that's the ultimate compliment! The window scarf....$1.99 at Goodwill.

This is the wall that's not done. I'm going to do swirls in raised plaster painting in white. When they get done I'll post photos. For now, it's a daybed. When my back gets to hurting, I just take a break, put the heating pad on the pillows, turn the TV that direction and take a rest! The daybed cover was made by cutting off the ends of a queen duvet. The 2 jetmax cubes face the bed and provide storage for anyone sleeping there. I should also mention this is an adjustable bed, so if you need a recliner to sit in...you can adjust this to fit yourself perfectly!

Behind the door to the room - more cubes. The one on the top is the double cube for the cricut and opens upwards so nothing can go on top of it. This turned out to be the perfect spot with the little drawer shelf above it. OK....those drawers are empty. Can you believe that? Guess I need to find more stuff!!!

Inside the walk in closet, I decided to put up shelving and use the fabric cubes you get at Target. Only I found 6 cubes on craigslist for $10. Amazing deal! I used my p-touch to label everything. And it beats taking up space for a dresser - that would probably be too heavy for me to move! I used 4 more jentmax cubes in here to create a sewing table and put the paper cubes so when I close the door, I don't see that "mess". Clothes are hanging at the end of the closet on a double rack and there are more shelves on the other side. The closet is bigger than some rooms at 5' x 7.5'

Next blog (in a couple of days) I'm going to show you that the difference is in the detail when designing your studio. There are a ton of little tricks you can do to maximize space and just make life a little easier.

In the meantime....I'm in to white right now. This was one of those dressform notepads that you've seen everywhere. Again, 99 cents at the thrift store. It was red and gold. I recovered the front and back using paper, lace and ribbons. It's perfect hanging on the back of the ott-lite.

Then, the blog after that, I think we'll talk about re-designing your closet using thrift store finds! Can you tell I'm having a blast on a budget? Kerry and I just figured out that with paint, new bookcases from Ikea, new window coverings...and then all my thrift store finds, we've spent about $400 and have a whole new house! Maybe I really should come up with a book (or a DIY show) titled "How'd you find that?"

This is pretty much the most amazing studio I've ever seen. I love the white and blue theme, the feeling of simplicity and organization, and the beautiful window seat. I would love to do this in my home too! :)